Alex Revell says the performances of two of his strikers was a tonic to the sharp pang of defeat against Mansfield Town.

Elliott List and Jake Young both came in for a start in the 1-0 FA Cup loss and while Boro's struggles in scoring continued, the pair were key to a much improved performance than of late, certainly in the first half.

And the boss believes they were just missing the goal that would have helped cement some new-found belief.

Revell said: "They have been knocking on the door and when you’re picked at centre-forward, there are many factors that you have to deliver.  

"It's not just chances, it’s everything you do. You have to hold the ball up, you have to run in behind, you have to do many things. 

"We've really tried to deliver that message since the last game [against Leyton Orient] and first half, that Dan Kemp opportunity was completely off the training ground. 

"We’d worked on that a lot and you just hope that goes in because it then shows people that what we're doing is right. 

"When it doesn't happen, it's a frustration and it's a frustration for all of us. 

"But those players that came in had something to prove and I think for the large majority of the game, bringing them in  

"Listy was excellent, first half he caused some real problems, and Jake Young was direct with the ball. 

"I was hoping they got a goal as reward for their performances."

Their inclusion meant last year's top scorer was brought out, and he did not even feature off the bench despite Stevenage chasing the game late on.

Revell thinks his own personal struggles in front of goal warranted a break from playing, hopefully to give him a recharge.

He said: "Jamie has played so many minutes and he's obviously frustrated because he wants to score goals.

"There's no worries about it and have we created enough chances for Jamie? Maybe not. 

"But also last year, you know, he created chances for himself and it hasn't quite happened this year. 

"I think that, realistically for him, it was just an opportunity to come out and hopefully get his head right and just watch it. 

"And he would have been looking at that performance and thinking there were opportunities galore. 

"But those opportunities came because List worked as hard as he did. 

"We want competition. Elliott stepped up [against Mansfield] and we want that competition moving forward to make sure we get better."